On the occasion of December 10th, the International Human Rights Day, the President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov received representatives of the Association of politically persecuted, imprisoned and convicted citizens for the independence of the Macedonian people and its statehood. At the meeting, the representatives of the Association briefed President Ivanov on the current state of affairs concerning those persons, who, in the previous system, were arrested and persecuted for political reasons, as well as on the current state of affairs of their families. According to Nikola Andonov, coordinator of the Association, the families of those who were politically persecuted are still living with the consequences deriving from the violation of their fundamental human rights. The representatives of the Association presented several examples of people whose lives were severely disturbed because of their political views, beliefs and activities, as well as their ethnic or religious affiliation.

President Ivanov committed himself to provide his contribution to a better understanding of the effects of the systematic human rights abuses, as a necessary step towards building a democratic and free political system. President Ivanov announced the implementation of planned legislation to guarantee the status of politically persecuted persons. According to the President, it is necessary to correct the past injustices for the process of reconciliation and unity of the society.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, on the occasion of the great Christian holiday, St. Clement of Ohrid, send a congratulation message to the Archbishop of Ohrid and Macedonia, H.H. Stefan.

Your Holiness,

On my personal behalf and on behalf of the citizens of the Republic of Macedonia, let me extend to you personally, to the members of the Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church and to all Orthodox believers in the country and abroad, most sincere and cordial congratulations on the occasion of the great Christian holiday, St. Clement of Ohrid.

Observing the holiday St. Clement of Ohrid, founder of the Ohrid Archbishopric, founder of the Ohrid Literary School, the architect of the Cyrillic Alphabet and Old Slavic culture, is an event of great importance not only for the Republic of Macedonia, but also for the European culture and civilization.

The vision of St. Clement of Ohrid and of his educators Ss. Cyril and Metodius for bringing all people of our common continent together is an example that has not lost its relevance in the present time.

The deeds of St. Clement of Ohrid give us spiritual power and show us the road to a future of freedom, humanism, welfare and prosperity.

May we all celebrate this holiday for ages!

Sincerely,
Dr. Gjorge Ivanov

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today received the Letters of Credence of the newly appointed Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Stefano Lazzarotto and of the newly appointed Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta to the Republic of Macedonia, resident in Warsaw, Mr. Pawel Gierynski.
President Ivanov used the meeting to wish the newly appointed Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation, Dr. Stefano Lazzarotto successful work in the Republic of Macedonia. President Ivanov extended his satisfaction with the level and the development of the relations between Macedonia and Switzerland, stressing the recent visit and the meeting with the President of the Swiss Confederation, Doris Leuthard. President Ivanov expressed his satisfaction with the continuous cooperation between the two countries, which is also reflected in the support that the Republic of Macedonian has been receiving from the Swiss Confederation in various spheres. President Ivanov stressed the role of the Macedonian Diaspora in Switzerland, as an important link between the two countries, which contributes to the maintenance of close contacts and cooperation. 



At the meeting with the newly appointed Ambassador of the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, Mr. Pawel Gierynski, President Ivanov highly praised the work of the Order in its global humanitarian activities aiding sick and poor people. President Ivanov briefed Ambassador Gierynski on the engagement of the Republic of Macedonia in meeting the UN Millennium Development Goals for poverty eradication.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov today received the letters of credence of the newly appointed Ambassadors of the Italian Republic, the Kingdom of Denmark and Australia to the Republic of Macedonia.

President Ivanov, at the meeting with the newly appointed Ambassador of the Italian Republic, H.E. Dr. Fabio Cristiani, extended his satisfaction with the good and friendly relations between the two countries, stressing the meeting with the President of the Italian Republic, H.E. Giorgio Napolitano in Rome. President Ivanov extended his satisfaction with the principled and permanent support of the Italian Republic for Republic of Macedonia’s accelerated integration into the Euro-Atlantic institutions, which is considered as Macedonia’s highest strategic determination. In addition, President Ivanov expressed his gratitude for the high level attached by Italia in the appropriate European forums concerning the integrations of Macedonia but also of all South-East Europe countries, as an important step towards peace and prosperity for the region and for Europe in general.

At the meeting with the newly appointed Ambassador of the Kingdom of Denmark, H.E. Torben Brylle, President Ivanov wished him success in the execution of his new assignment and extended hope that his mandate would be a period of further development of the relations between Macedonia and Denmark. At the meeting, President Ivanov presented the strategic priorities of the Republic of Macedonia, full-fledged NATO membership and accession to the EU, objectives supported and advocated principally by the Kingdom of Denmark.  President Ivanov reflected on the recent awarding of the highest decoration, the order September 8th, to the former Foreign Minister of Denmark, Uffe Elemann Jensen for the significant support for Macedonia as an independent country with a clear Euro-Atlantic perspective. President Ivanov, also extended his hope that the Kingdom of Denmark will enact a positive decision to open a resident embassy in the Republic of Macedonia, as a contribution for further development of the relations between the two countries.

At the meeting with the newly appointed Ambassador of Australia, H.E. Dr. Helena Studdert, President Ivanov wished her welcome and success in the execution of the responsible mission and extended hope that during her mandate we will witness continuation in the upward trend of direct meetings and contacts at the highest level between the two countries. President Ivanov said that the myriad and dynamic Macedonian community in Australia is an important bridge between Macedonia and Australia, which is also an important factor of presence of Australia in this part of the world. In this regard, President Ivanov expressed hope that in due time we will witness the opening of an Embassy of Australia in Macedonia, which will additionally boost the links and the relations between the two countries.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, today, at the sidelines of the OSCE Summit in Astana, Kazakhstan, held bilateral meetings with OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Knut Vollebeak, UK Minister for Europe, David Lidington and short informal meetings with Heads of delegations of the Republic of Macedonia’s neighboring countries, as well as with other OSCE Summit participants.

ВThe OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities, Knut Vollebeak, at the meeting with President Ivanov expressed his gratitude to the leadership in the Republic of Macedonia for the efforts in establishing integrated education system and in view of this, extended particular satisfaction with the recently adopted Strategy on Integrated Education. Both interlocutors concluded that de-politicization of the education process is of essential importance. Macedonian president expressed satisfaction with the cooperation and the engagement of the OSCE High Commissioner on National Minorities in the Republic of Macedonia. President Ivanov stressed that the model of integration with assimilation, which is a reality in Macedonia, should be a model followed not only in our region but even beyond.


At the meeting with the UK Minister for Europe, David Lidington, mutual satisfaction was expressed with the positive trend in the relations and the cooperation between the two countries. President Ivanov expressed his gratitude for the strong support from the United Kingdom to the processes of integration into NATO and the EU. At the meeting they exchanged views and information on the upcoming EU Summit. President Ivanov outlined the latest developments in the process of overcoming the name dispute with our southern neighbor and expressed hope that the Republic of Macedonia will receive equal and fair treatment from the EU, and that the positive examples of parallel movement will be applied in our case. Minister Lidington emphasized that the UK remains a strong supporter of Macedonia’s EU integrations and expressed hope that a mutually acceptable solution will be found and that the Republic of Macedonia will take its rightful position in the integrations.



The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov, held short informal meetings with the President of the Republic of Serbia, Boris Tadic, the President of the Republic of Albania, Bamir Topi, the President of the Republic of Bulgaria, Georgi Parvanov, the Prime Minister of Greece, George Papandreou and the Foreign Minister of Greece Dimitris Droutsas. At these meetings, information and opinions were exchanged concerning the current situation in their own countries, next steps were negotiated, both in the bilateral and in the regional cooperation.

The President of the Republic of Macedonia, Dr. Gjorge Ivanov today had a working meeting with the Ambassadors of the EU member states and the EU candidate countries resident in the Republic of Macedonia, where views were exchanged on the current developments related to the Euro-Atlantic prospects of the Republic of Macedonia.

President Ivanov expressed his opinion that the 2010 EC Progress Report on Macedonia offers a realistic evaluation of both the country's achievements and weaknesses in the past year.
- Objective assessment is that the Republic of Macedonia has never been better that today in terms of implementing the reforms and meeting the criteria and that today, objectively speaking, Macedonia is at the same level in meeting criteria as other candidate countries, current members states, at this integration process stage, Macedonian President stressed.

President Ivanov said that he would personally urge all institutions in the Republic of Macedonia to address the notified weaknesses as soon as possible and that he will insist on maintaining the reform momentum and implementation of the Action Plan of the Republic of Macedonia for EU membership.

Concerning Macedonia's aspirations for full-fledged NATO membership, President Ivanov said that the Republic of Macedonia has been a faithful and loyal partner to the Alliance and he also said that he sees Macedonia’s future in this family.
Macedonian President reaffirmed that the priorities within his competences for the upcoming period will remain the same: continuation of the reform processes, full focus on finding mutually acceptable solution, thus unblocking the EU and NATO integration processes, building good neighborly relations and intensive regional cooperation.